It is possible to configure CouchDB so that with a single client serial importing data, you can get less than ten inserts per second (3 fsyncs per insert). For

It is possible to configure CouchDB so that with a single client serial importing data, you can get less than ten inserts per second (3 fsyncs per insert). For a brief window we shipped that as the default configuration. I'm not saying CouchDB is a speed-demon. It's not designed to be. It is designed to absorb real-world load spikes without falling over. And eventually when it falls over (as all databases will) it is designed to pop right back up again with only a few ms downtime.